Development and characterization of Ag-NPs coated silk sutures: a novel approach to inhibit surgical site infections

Sutures play an essential role in surgical operations, as they secure and stabilise the edges of wounds to facilitate healing. Nonetheless, microbes on sutures can heighten the likelihood of surgical site infections (SSI) because of pathogen colonisation. This research focused on addressing surgical site infections (SSI) by creating silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) through a modified nanoprecipitation technique and utilising them to coat antimicrobial sutures. The physiochemical characteristics of Ag-NPs were confirmed by morphology (through TEM) with a particle size of 26.23 ± 0.234 nm, a PDI of 0.383 ± 0.156, and a zeta potential range of 1.04 ± 0.0.98 mV. Drug content and release studies were conducted for Ag-NP-coated silk sutures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was conducted to determine the coating of Ag-NP-coated silk sutures. Antimicrobial activity was studied using five microorganisms (<i>E. coli, P. aeruginosa, E. faecalis, S. aureus,</i> and <i>T. asperellum</i>) for Ag-NP-coated silk sutures. The cytotoxicity of the Ag-NP-coated silk sutures was investigated using HaCaT for 24 h, which exhibited good cell viability. Finally, this study evaluates the pharmacokinetics of Ag-NP-coated silk sutures in a rat model to determine the pharmacokinetic profile of Ag. Overall, the results indicate that Ag-NP-coated sutures can potentially be used as antimicrobials to diminish or inhibit SSI in postoperative or general surgery patients.